World’s Soil Resources

Prepared by I. Alyabina
Figure 11.2 Soil salinization on the territory of the European region. Source: Afonin et al., 2008; Toth et al., 2008; GDRS, 1987.
Uzbekistan
The area of salt-affected soils in Uzbekistan is 20.8 million ha, or 46.5 percent of the country’s territory.
Saline soils are everywhere in the country except in mountainous regions and well drained flood valleys. Saltaffected
soils are represented by Solonchaks in closed depressions and the bottom of the largely dried-up Aral
Sea, by Salic Calcisols in uplifted areas such as the Ustyurt plateau and the Kyzyl-Kum desert, by Takyric Salic
Fluvisols in the alluvial and deltaic plains, and by extensive irrigated soils of various grades of human-induced
salinization.
Turkmenistan
The area of salt-affected soils in Turkmenistan is 14.1 million ha or 28.7 percent of the total area of the
country. These soils are distributed all over the country, but the major concentration is in the western part of
the country close to the Caspian Sea. Most of these soils are not classified as Solonchaks and belong to the
groups of Salic Calcisols and Takyric Salic Calcisols.
Ukraine
The area covered by salt-affected soils in Ukraine is about 4 million ha or 6.6 percent of the national territory
(Novikova, 2009). Most of these lands are not used in agriculture; they are located largely in the southern and
eastern parts of the country within the steppe and forested steppe zones. Most of these soils are classified as
Solonetz and other soils with various grades of alkalinity.
Status of the World’s Soil Resources | Main Report Regional Assessment of Soil Changes
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in Europe and Eurasia